Scope creep calculator
See what “quick tweaks”really do toyour hourly rate.
Drag the Revision Trap slider to add unbilled hours and watch your effective rate fall in real time. Then build a quote with a revision cap that stops it happening again.
Quick Preset
Try a real scenario in one click.
Quote Inputs
Recommended Client Quote
$2,880
24 billable hrs · 2 revision rounds included · $120.00/hr effective
The “Revision Trap” Simulator
What if the client asks for extra unbilled tweaks? (+0 to +25 extra hours)
Client Quote
24 hrs billed
$2,880
Quoted Rate
Target $100/hr
$120.00/hr
Real Effective Rate
120% of target
$120.00/hr
Free exports carry a small ScopeGuard watermark. Pro removes it and adds your logo, tax and saved quotes.
See it in 25 seconds
From hourly rate to a quote that holds up
Set your numbers, stress-test the Revision Trap, and export a PDF the client can sign.
Worked example
A $5,184 web-design quote at $120/hr. The client asks for “a few small tweaks” that add 20 unbilled hours.
Your target rate
$120.00
What you actually earned
$92.57
That’s 23% below your rate, even after the 20% buffer, with $2,400 of work given away. A revision cap and one paid change order would have billed it.
See exactly what clients receive
A real Pro quote and change order, generated by ScopeGuard for a sample business.
How it works
Quote with confidence in under a minute
- 01
Enter your rate & scope
Set your target hourly rate, core hours, and how many revision rounds you'll include. Add a contingency buffer for the unknowns.
- 02
Stress-test the Revision Trap
Drag the slider to see what “just a few more tweaks” does to your real hourly rate before you commit to a number.
- 03
Send it, and bill the extras
Export a branded PDF quote with a clear revision cap. When scope creeps, send a paid change order in one click.
Pricing
Free to calculate. $29 once to get paid for it.
Less than a single billable hour at most freelance rates, and one recovered revision round pays for it several times over. No subscription.
Free
$0
Pro
$29 one-time
- Project & monthly retainer pricing
- Contingency buffer & rush fee calculator
- Revision Trap scope-creep simulator
- Real effective hourly rate & profit health bar
- 12 currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, NGN, GHS, INR…)
- PDF quote export (free version is watermarked)
- Watermark-free PDFs with your business name & logo
- Tax/VAT line & custom deposit terms
- Saved quotes for every client
- Paid change-order addendum PDFs
- Polite-but-firm client email scripts
14-day money-back guarantee · Your quotes stay in your browser
Why ScopeGuard exists
Made for freelancers who are tired of unpaid revisions
ScopeGuard is built and maintained by an independent developer, not a big company. It exists for one reason: “just a few small tweaks” shouldn’t quietly turn a good project into a bad hourly rate.
The calculator stays free. Pro pays for the time it takes to keep it maintained, and gives you the documents that make saying “that’s a change order” easy.
- Your quotes and client details never leave your browser.
- One payment, lifetime updates. No subscription, ever.
- 14-day money-back guarantee if it doesn't earn its keep.
FAQ
Questions, answered
No. Every calculation, quote, and PDF is generated locally in your browser. Your settings, business details, logo, and saved quotes are kept only in this browser's local storage. They are never sent to our servers.
When you activate, your license key (and only the key) is sent to our license endpoint, which confirms it with our payment provider, Lemon Squeezy. The check repeats quietly in the background now and then. If you're offline, Pro keeps working. Deactivating frees the key so you can use it on another browser.
Yes. Open “See a sample Pro quote” in the pricing section to view a full Pro quote and change order for a sample business. You can also click Export PDF Quote on the free plan to download your own quote with a small ScopeGuard watermark.
One consolidated set of written feedback that you address in a single pass. Your PDF quote spells this out and states that additional rounds are billed at your overage rate, so there's no ambiguity later.
15–25% suits most projects. Go higher for vague briefs, new clients, or unfamiliar tech, and lower for repeat work with a tight spec. The Revision Trap simulator shows how many extra hours your buffer absorbs before your rate starts eroding.
Use a retainer for ongoing work with a predictable monthly allocation of hours, such as maintenance, content, or support. The quote becomes a monthly fee, and the PDF adds a minimum-commitment term and a no-rollover clause.
You're covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. .